Great
 Lakes
 National
 Program
On the Web at:
www.epa.gov/greatlakes
    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO)
Significant Activities Report


      October 2005
 IN THIS ISSUE:
 • Wisconsin Automobile Mercury
  Switch Collection Project
 •Mudpuppy's Busy October
 • Habitat Grant Awards
 • Japanese Visitors Study Environ-
  mental Restoration Methods
 • Lake Superior Hazardous Waste
  Collection
Wisconsin Automobile Mercury
Switch Collection Project
In September 2001, USEPA's Great Lakes
National Program Office awarded the Wis-
consin Department of Natural Resources
(WDNR) a $65,000 grant to establish an
Automotive Mercury Switch Collection
Project (Project) with the auto and scrap re-
cycling industry.

This successful project had a number of
positive impacts:
•  It established a collection program that
   is on-going,
•  It furthered the development of positive
   relationships between the industry group
   and the WDNR,
•  It resulted in keeping 796 pounds of
   mercury waste from entering the envi-
   ronment during the processing, smelt-
   ing, shredding of scrap material,
•  It collected over 50,000 mercury
   switches from scrapped automobiles,
•  It was accomplished at minimal cost
   ($65,000 for the 4 years),
               Examples of the types of mercury switches collected
                     (photo courtesy of Wisconsin DNR)

              •  It assisted the automotive recyclers in
                 helping to meet their Best Management
                 Practice required in their Storm Water
                 Permit,
              •  It was able to provide recognition to
                 those participants by the highest level of
                 state government (Governor and Secre-
                 tary of WDNR) and
              •  It provided a basis for further discus-
                 sions/involvement with other responsible
                 industry groups in future efforts.

               Additional information about the WDNR's
              mercury collection program is available on
              their Web Site at: http://dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/
              cea/assistance/scrap/switches/index.htm

              (Contact: Tony Kizlauskas, 312-353-8773,
              kizlauskas.anthony@epa.gov)

              Mudpuppy's Busy October
              The Great Lakes National Program Office's
              32-foot sediment research boat, the R/VMud-
              puppy had a busy October, completing trips

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October 2005
                  Significant Activities Report
         to several Great Lakes Areas of Concern to
         characterize the condition of bottom sedi-
         ments or to check on sediment cleanups.

         Muskegon Lake
         Scientists from GLNPO and the Michigan
         Department of Environmental Quality ob-
         tained twenty-three sediment core samples
         and twenty-three Ponar surface samples at
         the Division Street outfall in Muskegon
         Lake from October 3rd to 5th. The Ponars
         and cores taken on board the R/VMudpuppy
         will be analyzed for polychlorinated biphen-
         yls (PCBs) and metals. There were two ob-
         jectives for this sampling:
         1.  To understand the micro-distribution of
            contaminants in  sediments, both verti-
            cally and horizontally; and
         2.  To understand Muskegon Lake PCB and
            metal concentrations at Division Street
            outfall. This work is part of a Great
            Lakes Legacy Act sediment monitoring
            project at Ryerson Creek.

         (Contact: Alie Muneer, 312-886-8031, mu-
         neer.alie@epa.gov)

         Black Lagoon
         On October 11th, the R/VMudpuppy visited
         the Black Lagoon (being cleaned up under
         USEPA's Legacy Act authority) to take
         cores to confirm that the residual sand layer
         cap (part of the final phase of cleanup) was
         placed.

         (Contact: Marc Tuchman, 312-353-1369,
         tuchman.marc@epa.gov)

         Trenton Channel
         On October 12th, the R/V'Mudpuppy col-
         lected sediment samples on the Trenton
         Channel of the Detroit River Area of Con-
         cern, located in Riverview, Michigan. The
         sampling took place on the western shore of
         the Trenton Channel, adjacent to the BASF
   R/V Mudpuppy retrieving sediment core sample

 and Arkema industrial sites, and upstream
 of the Grosse He toll bridge. The sampling
 plan called for the Mudpuppy crew to col-
 lect five Ponar dredge samples at each of
 three designated locations. In 2004, surficial
 sediment samples were collected at these
 three locations and found to have mercury
 concentrations above 20 mg/kg. The pur-
 pose of the Ponar samples was to confirm
 and further characterize the extent of mer-
 cury concentration in the vicinity of the
 three sites. The Ponar dredge samples were
 processed on site by the Mudpuppy crew,
 bottled, and transferred to the Michigan De-
 partment of Environmental Quality for mer-
 cury analysis. Additionally, four vibracore
 samples were obtained in the northern por-
 tion of the study area, adjacent to the
 Arkema industrial property.  The purpose of
 these samples was to measure the depth of
 sediment in the area,  and to quantify the ex-
 tent of contamination by mercury and poly-
 cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Ana-
 lytical results for both sample sets are pend-
 ing.

 (Contact: Dave Wethington, 312-886-1437,
 wethington.david@epa.gov).

 Saginaw River
 On October 18th tp 20th, 2005 the R/VMud-
 puppy was in Saginaw, Michigan to provide
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U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office

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 Significant Activities Report
                                  October 2005
        support to the State of Michigan in delineat-
        ing dioxin levels in Saginaw River sedi-
        ments. Sediment cores and surficial samples
        were collected in 18 sampling locations for
        dioxin analysis. The samples will help
        Michigan DEQ confirm and delineate the
        extent of a dioxin hot spot near the City of
        Saginaw.

        (Contact: Scott Cieniawski, 312-353-9184,
        cieniawski.scott@epa.gov)

        Habitat Grant Awards
        The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
        has been the grant servicing intermediary
        for GLNPO habitat-related grants for two
        years, with the third year of sub-grants just
        being awarded. In FY 2003 and 2004, the
        more than $1.1 million was awarded for 29
        projects approved by GLNPO. Of the 29
        projects,  seven have been completed:

        STREAMS Educational Outreach Fo-
        rums (NFWF 2005-0005-002)
        Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
        $10,815.
        More than 270 streambank rehabilitation
        professionals from 19 states attended a con-
        ference to learn about stable stream proc-
        esses and water resource management. The
        goal was to enhance the capabilities of pro-
        fessionals regarding natural channel design.

        Wetlands C.P.R. Toolkit (NFWF  2004-
        0005-006)
        Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council.
        $19,317.
        A wetland resource toolbox was developed
        to promote citizen wetland conservation
        protection and restoration throughout the
        Great Lakes basin. The toolbox is found at:
        http://www.greatlakesdirectory.org/
        GLAHNF_wetlands_packet/cover_letter.
        htm
                                                             Sjgnrllcanl Bird Habitat
                                     -
 Significant Bird Habitat map from Ohio Coastal Atlas
        (graphics courtesy of Ohio DNR)

Brownfields-Greenfields Policy Roundta-
ble (NFWF 2004-0005-007)
Great Lakes Commission. $20,000.
A policy roundtable for state officials link-
ing brownfields and greenfields protection
was held to increase their knowledge about
options for land protection. Information
about this and other roundtables is found at:
http://glc.org/landuse/index.html

Ohio Coastal Atlas (NFWF 2004-0005-
102)
Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
$5,000.
The colorful atlas addresses habitat manage-
ment and related education issues in  the
Ohio portion of the Lake Erie basin.  The at-
las is found at: http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/
coastal/gis/coastalatlasmaps.htm

Wild Ones Natural Landscapers 25 Year
History Book (NFWF 2004-0005-115)
Wild Ones Natural Landscapers. $5,000.
This project provided support to print 6,000
copies of a 30-page document of Wild Ones
historical accomplishments.

Great Lakes Communications Toolbox
(NFWF  2004-0005-111)
Biodiversity Project. $4,800.
The Great Lakes Communications Toolbox
is a CD ROM produced to enable citizens
U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office
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October 2005
                  Significant Activities Report
         and community-based groups to promote
         awareness of water quality and quantity,
         habitat protection, and invasive species. 120
         groups applied for and received the toolbox.

         Road Crossings Training Program
         (NFWF 2004-0005-114)
         University of Wisconsin Extension Service.
         $5,000.
         Thirty-three people attended a workshop in
         Ashland, Wisconsin about how to build fish
         friendly stream crossings. Attendees were
         from municipal, county and tribal govern-
         ments. Part of the program included a field
         day to Silver Creek to cover engineering
         and fish biology and discuss construction
         practices needed to design and  build fish-
         friendly water crossings.

         (Contact:  Karen Rodriguez, 312-353-2690,
         rodriguez.karen@epa.gov)

         Japanese Visitors Study Environ-
         mental Restoration Methods
         On October 13th and 14th GLNPO staff as-
         sisted Region 5 in hosting six visitors from
         Japan interested in lake and river cleanup
         and restoration and cooperative restoration
         efforts. The visitors were chief researchers
         from the Foundation of River and Water-
          GLNPO's Karen Rodriguez (second from left) with
                      Japanese visitors
                  (photo courtesy of Tohru Abe)
  Some of the pesticides turned in at the Red Rock,
    Minnesota hazardous waste collection event
   (photo courtesy of Jim Bailey/ecosuperior.com)

 shed Environment Management in Tokyo.
 GLNPO staff talked about Great Lakes en-
 vironmental problems, progress, and the Re-
 gional Collaboration. Staff also accompa-
 nied the group to Northerly Island and the
 Magic Hedge at Montrose Harbor with City
 of Chicago Department of Environment
 staff to learn about lakefront restoration and
 Chicago Wilderness.

 (Contact: Karen Rodriguez, 312-353-2690,
 rodriguez.karen@epa.gov)

 Lake Superior Hazardous Waste
 Collection
 In accordance with Lake Superior LaMP
 priorites, household hazardous waste collec-
 tions held in the small, Canadian Lake Su-
 perior North Shore towns of Red Rock and
 Wawa, Ontario, Saturday and Sunday, Oc-
 tober 29th and 30th. Area residents brought
 in substantial quantitites of old oil, paint,
 solvents, pesticides, mercury,  creosote,
 cleaning products, batteries, propane tanks,
 etc.

 The purpose of the collection was to reduce
 the volume of toxic substances that would
 be landfilled or simply poured down a drain
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U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office

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 Significant Activities Report
                                   October 2005
        into the municipal sewer system or even
        poured directly into the ground. Products
        were collected by a certified hazardous-
        waste carrier and recycled or disposed of in
        accordance with Ontario Ministry of the En-
        vironment regulations.

        Red Rock and Wawa town councils demon-
        strated their support by hosting the one-day
        events, and area residents demonstrated
        their support through their participation in
        the events. Comments from participants
        about the events were highly positive, and
        many of them asked when the next event
        would be held. The events were coordinated
        by EcoSuperior Environmental Programs, a
        non-profit group from Thunder Bay, in part-
        nership with the Townships of Red Rock
        and Wawa. Financial support was provided
        by the Ontario Ministry of Environment and
        Environment Canada.

        (Contact: Elizabeth LaPlante, 312-353-
        2694, laplante.elizabeth@epa.gov)
        Upcoming Events
December 6th-
December 12
November 1-3
   2005

Great Lakes Binational
Toxics Strategy Stakeholder
Forum and Integration
Workgroup, Chicago, Illi-
nois
Great Lakes Regional Col-
laboration Summit II, Chi-
cago, Illinois

   2006

State of the Lakes Ecosys-
tem Conference
(SOLEC) 2006
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
                                                  We welcome your questions, comments or
                                                  suggestions about this month's Significant
                                                  Activities Report. To be added to or re-
                                                  moved from the Email distribution of the
                                                  Significant Activities Report, please contact
                                                  Tony Kizlauskas, 312-353-8773,
                                                  kizlauskas.anthony@epa.gov.
U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office
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